…Records N20.83bn in 2024, surpassing N17bn target

As the push to ensure airport viability and revenue generation intensifies, the Regional Manager, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, Ahmed Danjuma, speaks on repositioning, terminal upgrade, revenue targets, passenger traffic and cargo inflow and outflow.

Is the airport serviceable and what is the current status of both local and international airlines at the airport?

The current status of the airport, both local and international, is they are all serviceable.

They are operational. We operate domestic airlines from the old international terminal. As you’ve seen, maybe the usual domestic terminal that used to be called Dankabo terminal is under renovation.

That was why the operation was moved to the old international terminal. So currently we operate that terminal as well as the international terminal. And they’re all operating to a reasonable extent. Thank you.

Deploying quick fix to ensure smooth running of the old structure of the airport building.

The quick fix are always available in every building, particularly an old building of that nature that has been in operation for over 40 something, 50 years. Like I said, you know, we’re using the old international timeline and that is an old building that has been out of use for quite a while.

And what you observe, that is the POP, you know, is due to heavy leakage from the roof. You know, it actually affected the POP for the past two years and effort has been made to fix it.

But, you know, like I said, an old structure maintenance is always very difficult. So, already planned on the way to totally, you know, roof the whole building. That is only going to be the last solution. To that leakage. Meanwhile, we are just deploying palliatives to make a little quick fix to uplift the facelift to the building for the meantime.

So basically, that’s why you’re seeing that is the nature of the building, an old structure, but still going on. We are trying to see how we can be able to get it fully, you know, roofed so that leakage can be stopped.

Airlines operating at the airport terminal, passenger traffic as well as cargo.

Thee airlines operating in the domestic terminal are Maxair, like I said, Air Peace, Rano Airlines, United Nigeria, Umza, and Aero contractors into domestic wing.

Well, for the international, we have Qatar Airways, Saudi Airlines, Ethiopian, and Egypt Airlines, and Max2 for international, that’s five.

For the passenger movement, the average movement we have for the month of April, we had for domestic inbound, we have 20,472, while the outbound is 21,278. For international, the inbound we had, we recorded 18,687. While the outbound is 6,787.

For cargo, in domestic, we moved 16,176 tons. Then for import international, we recorded 788,359. While for export, we had 161,367.

Any plans on infrastructural development at the airport?

I’ve actually settled down a little and I’ve done my observations and analysis on how to move the airport forward. I actually have an ambitious plan for this airport. I have seen the potentials associated with this airport.

I have seen ways and means we can improve our revenue generation, particularly on the non-aero. As the aeros, you know, they already established a stream of incomes and that has no business, we have no problem with that. Our focus will be on the non-aeronautical, you know, Kano Airport is statistically located at the heart of the city. So that gives it a proximity to businesses that can cluster around the airport.

So I want to leverage on that to invite and bring in more investors that will come to the airport and establish business outlets. And we also have privilege of land, you know, available lands that can be used to attract in businesses.

So for that, I’ve already started discussion with some business owners in around Kano City, with whom I knew personally. And I’ve also seen some unused areas in the airport, particularly the private lounge, you know, that was built and abandoned.

I really want to leverage on that and see if we can be able to invite some private operators to come and partner with us so that they can put that facility into use. That will give us a good revenue earner. We have massive land for car parks and shops.

Recently, we’ve given out some portion of land to a business entity that is going to build a hotel within the domestic terminal site. That will also bring in a lot of money for us.

Like I said, you know, leveraging on the focus of the management, particularly the MD, on non-aero, I want to use this opportunity to ensure that whatever I can do within my means, to ensure that I can be able to provide the money to the businesses that are providing the land.

I want to leverage on that attract more businesses to come to the airport I will surely do that and I will seek the support and cooperation of the management whom they are willing to do that. So basically that’s the focus and the plan I have for this airport. Within the shortest possible time I will ensure that I’ll make some changes that are going to be visible and economically important and attractive.

The concessionaires and auxiliary service providers?

For me, I found them very cooperative people. What I’ve met on ground actually, no any issue of non-payment or compliance or regulations. In fact, most of them are on credit balance. So we have little or no much issue engaging with our stakeholders.

The ground handlers too are cooperating, even though we have some challenges that is actually affecting their performance. But based on our understanding, we talk to ourselves, we meet regularly.

I vigorously encourage a stakeholders engagement so that we share our problems and see how best we can be able to partner so that we make things easy for each other.

The supporters, we support them in studying their accessibility while they also do their own part to live up to the obligation of their role as service providers at the airport.

So, so far, so good. No cause for alarm, actually, as far as our relationship. All that service providers are responsible.

Staff and other airport workers.

Well, the staff strength of Kano Airport is about 1,255. Well, the state of facility, like I said, you know, like I said. not too good that I even expected I really want it to be. what we are making are doing our best to ensure that we get the best for our customers particularly passengers and other airport users and like I said the Dankabo terminal particularly the domestic wing that is the undergoing construction renovation if that one is completed I tell you you have a fantastic edifice there that will provide the basic and the most conducive environment for travelers for the international wing we have no issue with that aside from one or two hitches here and there but uh averagely we are doing well at international no much complaint aside from some few issues which we are trying to do at our best be with the maintenance engineer particularly that those are the chinese that are still managing that terminal so we are working hand in hand with them to ensure that the that edifice is maintained as as as the best we can and um so far we have not had much complaints from users of that terminal but for domestic like I said in the next two or three, the MD has promised that the Dankabu terminal will be uh fully operational it will be completed and we’ll all move our operations to that place particularly the domestic district operations and then that’s when you see the beauty of the Dankabu terminal the beauty of Kano airport and the seamless operations that we are going to give to our customers and I think that’s that for cooling system like you rightly mentioned the old international terminal that we are using like I said those air conditions were in stone for the past almost 17 years and you can imagine these are machines that work 24 hours nearly 24 hours in a day and our old machine so maintenance is definitely uh a little difficult but we are trying our best when I came in virtually all of them both at the concourse arrival and the waiting lounge most of the aces were not in serviceable condition so we tried to fix all the ones at the waiting lounge, what remains now is the concourse area and the chicken in area very mighty and very huge space that uh ordinary package unit cannot be able to provide the desired cooling system but all it requires is a chilling system or a rooftop and that one is underway like I said it’s when the Dankabu terminal is completed we will now move then attention will now be given to the old international terminal where i think we are likely going to leave one or two airlines to operate there while the remaining ones will move to the Dankabu terminal so for the cooling system we are trying our best to scale like i said the waiting launch our focus now is the checking counter and lastly the public concourse.

Revenue generation and prospects.

Revenue generation is something that everyone is in fact that’s what we’re having here to make money and provide better service to our customers, when you look back our last year projection for the 2024 January to December our target was N17.3 billion, I’m happy to tell you that we generated over N20.83 billion last year that’s over and above the target with over N3.8 billion so that is a plus for us and we hope to do more this year so far the first quarter was also very promising and we hope by the end of this year we are going to hit and surpass our target our focus mainly is on non-aero like I said previously our focus is on non-aero the area already established a stream of income that cannot be no worried much about but if we dwell on non-aeronautical that will give definitely going to make a difference for us and we are going to pursue that the best of our ability.

Cost of shuttle within the airport and ways to make it cost effective.

Shuttle buses or cars that are available within the airport, I have actually observed that they are a little more expensive, so, what I did was that we I had a meeting with the unions and um we agreed that there is a one post that is by the school so we intend to roll out that boss particularly for staff so that they can be shuttling from the departure area of domestic international uh new block down to the runabout we call that another about runabout and we also encourage other operators to come in like recently the last three weeks some group of you also applied for registration as shuttle operators that will also checkmate the exorbitant rate the current ones are charging by the time you have competition definitely the price will come down so while looking at that there’s two ways for the public we want to increase more participants that will have competition while for staff we are thinking of initiating a shuttle bus mainly for staff of the airport particularly nama ncaa fund and other airline that can use it to the barbara runabout and into the airport so that’s what we are doing as far as the issue of transportation is concerned.

Fire tenders and readiness to tackle any airport fire.

The rest of the other facilities, like the fire tender as you rightly mentioned, we have two, there are three serviceable fire tenders for now, which is enough for operations, but the third one is like a support, it’s not as strong as the new one, but we still have other two that we are hoping to be fixed in the shortest possible time.

However, my major concern as far as infrastructure is concerned in Kano is the runway pavement. The runway of Kano airport needs to be totally resurfaced. It has outlived its lifespan for almost since 2011 or so, but thank God, the MD has assured us that Kano has been captured for resurfacing, so in the shortest possible time, some contractors have been coming around to take samples and measure all the two runways.

So, definitely, when that is done, I will be rest assured that at least the surface of the runway will be fantastic, but for now, we will keep on being palliative to make it safe for aircraft operations, while, like I said, you know, other facilities too, all aged facilities, particularly the terminal building, until that terminal is put into use, we’ll continue to monitor it, we’ll continue to manage, we’ll continue to maintain the ones that we have to the best of our ability for the comfort of our passengers and other airport users.